3 Books to Read Yourself Healthy

And Breathe: The Complete Guide to Conscious Breathing for Health and Happinessby Rebecca Dennis. It seems ridiculous, but most of us don’t know how to breathe right. We take short, shallow breaths that don’t engage our diaphragms. Dennis, a British “transformational breath” facilitator, offers a variety of breathing exercises that promise to fight stress, provide energy, aid digestion, or help you sleep. And you can practice them anywhere — even in rush hour traffic. (Lifelong Books)

Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Tryingby Light Watkins. A plethora of studies have proved the value of meditation, so it goes without saying that a daily meditation routine would help us all be a little healthier. You might actually make that goal a reality with this popular African-American meditation teacher’s quick and easy guide that starts with two revolutionary propositions: Make yourself comfortable, and stop worrying about your thoughts. Bliss More will have you meditating in no time. (Ballantine Books)

Deep End of the Pool Workouts: No-Impact Interval Training and Strength Exercises by Melis Edwards and Katlin Wright. Noting that a 150-pound runner can experience 600 to 900 pounds of pressure with each foot strike, these two women argue that athletes who transition to water workouts will prevent injuries and extend athletic careers while maintaining endurance and strength. They offer progressive exercises that target different parts of the body, detailed techniques, tips and photos to help get it right, and examples of workouts to put it all into practice. Summertime plan? (Ulysses Press)